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Malaysian police raid ex-PM Najib's residence

Malaysian police have searched the home of ex-premier Najib Razak, one week after he lost a historic election. The new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has vowed to probe alleged corruption in a state investment fund.

More than a dozen police vehicles arrived at former Prime Minister Najib Razak's home in the capital Kuala Lumpur late on Wednesday, as part of apparent investigation into corruption and money laundering.

The new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has vowed to probe Najib's alleged roll in pilfering the state investment fund 1MDB.

Over the weekend the 92-year-old prime minister barred Najib, his wife and others linked to 1MDB from leaving the country.

Money laundering probe

Najib's lawyer said police had been searching the former leader's home as part of a money laundering investigation for more than 18 hours.

"This harassment has now continued for almost 18 hours and nothing meaningful has come from the search and seizure of what would appear to be insignificant personal items," Harpal Singh Grewal said.

He added that no arrests were made. Najib's wife, Rosmah Mansor, is known for expensive shopping trips abroad.

The raids raised speculation that Najib could be arrested after Mahathir suggested his former ally could be charged soon over the 1MDB scandal.

PM Mahathir Mohamad has reopend the probe into the 1MDM scandal

Billions in assets missing

Najib has been accused of corruption and mismanagement of 1MDB, which he established in 2009. He denies any wrongdoing.

Six foreign countries are also investigating the former prime minister and his associates at 1MDB. US investigators say at least at least $4.5 billion (€3.8 billion) of the fund's assets were stolen and laundered.

Nearly $700 million had appeared in Najib's bank account. A Malaysia investigation into Najib was ultimately dropped in 2016.

Meanwhile, Mahatir has sacked the attorney general that cleared Najib of wrongdoing and relieved the country's treasury head, who was also the 1MDB chairman.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

The doctor is in - again

A medical doctor by training, Mahathir led Malaysia from 1981 to 2003 and is dubbed the country's "father of modernization." A shrewd politician, he won five consecutive general elections, while deflecting challenges to his leadership of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), a core component party of the ruling coalition, the Barisan Nasional (BN).

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Extraordinary elections ahead

The Malaysian elections must be held by August this year, with analysts predicting they will happen by June. It promises an unprecedented spectacle as it will pit incumbent Najib Razak against Mahathir, his former mentor, who had favored him and helped install him as PM in 2009. Mahathir quit UMNO in 2016 following the 1MDB scandal, saying it had become "Najib's party."

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Rallying for 'clean' elections

Called a "dictator" by critics for his hard stance on dissidents and the press, and for curbing the power of the judiciary while he was PM, he attended a Bersih ("Clean") rally in 2016 organized by several NGOs seeking reforms of the current electoral system to ensure free, clean and fair elections. Critics also blame him for consolidating power in the hands of the executive during his tenure.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

An astounding about-turn

Mahathir set up a new party in 2016, which then joined forces with Pakatan Harapan, a loose coalition of oppostion parties. Ironically, he had locked away some members of these parties before, most significantly, his former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim. The coalition has stated that if it wins the 2018 elections, Mahathir would be PM and Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (pictured here), his deputy.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

The eyebrow-raising reconciliation

Anwar (L), once Mahathir's heir apparent-turned-archrival, was sacked from his post as deputy PM, and later charged and found guilty of graft and sodomy. Yet, in their shared zeal to unseat Najib, they've now struck a deal, with Mahathir offering to secure a royal pardon for Anwar (currently serving a second sentence for sodomy under Najib's administration), easing the way for Anwar to become PM.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Between a rock and a hard place

Not all Malaysians are on board with this pact though. Some civil society members and opposition lawmakers blame Mahathir for engineering the very system he now opposes. This disquiet has spurred a new movement. #UndiRosak (or #SpoiltVote) that urges voters to either boycott the polls or cast spoilt ballots. But others argue that this will merely split opposition votes and empower BN further.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Future in peril?

Current PM Najib Razak's administration has been mired in scandals, most notably involving the state fund 1MDB, which is being probed for money laundering in several countries. However, a survey in December predicted that he is likely to remain in power given a fractious opposition and his government's efforts to redraw electoral boundaries that critics claim highly favor a BN win.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Loss of popular vote

The BN, which has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957, lost its two-thirds parliamentary majority after the 2013 elections. It also then lost the popular vote for the first time in its history to Pakatan Harapan.

Malaysia sees the return of Mahathir Mohamad

Courting the millennials

Meanwhile, the nonagenarian has taken to social media in a bid to court the country's younger electorate. But a poll conducted in August 2017 found that "seven out of 10 voters below the age of 30 in Peninsular Malaysia do not care about politics; two-thirds believe that politicians were not just untrustworthy, but also the 'main problem in Malaysia.'"

Author: Brenda Haas

Political earthquake

Mahathir, who ruled from 1981 to 2003, came out of retirement to spearhead a four-party alliance that won a surprise victory in the May 9 elections, ending nearly 60 years of rule by the Basiran National coalition.

Popular frustration over the 1MDB affair is widely believed to have led to Najib's loss.